If I put -newui to launch parameters and try to connect to any EXP server, that black screen "please wait" appears only after about 1-2 minutes. During that time I still can see and operate main menu. If I click on "connect" again, the window appears saying "Connecting failed".
It took me quite a while to understand that connection still goes. Actually, solved it accidentally, after I pressed "connect", nothing happened, I Alt+Tabbed for a while, and after return BAM I'm on the server {F32090}